Nail clipper having restraining means for preventing flight of fingernails



Nov. 14, 1967 J. p. KELLER NAIL CLIPPER HAVING RESTRAINING MEANS FOR PREVENTING FLIGHT OF FINGERNAILS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 19, 1965 I FIG-2 INVENTQR. JOSEPH D. KELLER Nov. 14, 1967 I NAIL CLIPPER HAV PREVENTING FLIGHT OF FIN NAILS Filed Aug. 19. 1965 .KEL R RES IN MEANS FOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH p. KELLER f United States Patent 3,352,010 NAIL CLIPPER HAVING RESTRAINING MEANS FOR PREVENTING FLIGHT OF FINGERNAILS Joseph D. Keller, 1820 Winchester Drive, Winter Park, Fla. 32789 Filed Aug. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 481,004 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-135) This invention relates to an improved nail clipper, and more particularly to a nail clipper of inexpensive construction that advantageously is so configured as to prevent the flight of fingernails during a nail trimming operation.

In the past, a number of concepts have been patented relating to various means for catching fingernails as they are trimmed, as well as for merely preventing fingernails from undesirably flying through the air as they are cut. However, in each known instance these devices have been of elaborate construction and unwieldy, but perhaps most significantly such prior art clippers have necessarily been of expensive construction. Despite the many types of nail clippers on the market, and considering also the past efforts spent to catch or stop cut nails, seldom has a clipper been made available for purchase at low to moderate price which incorporates desirable cut nail control.

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided a simple, novel, yet highly effective design for preventing the flight of cut fingernails, which design quite significantly adheres to the principle that the cost of the advantageous new nail clipper must represent only a slight increase if any at all over the devices now on the market, thereby enabling my clipper to be vended in the same manner and for the same price as ordinary prior art devices.

My novel design is predicated upon the fact that the flight of fingernails can be effectively prevented by the use of 'a restraining means or obstruction that is operatively disposed between the relatively movable structural members of the clipper adjacent the blades or jaws of the clipper. Such restraining means can take many forms and for example may be a block of ordinary resilient material such as plastic or sponge rubber, or even may be formed by upsetting a portion of the metal structural members of the clipper at a location adjacent to the cutting jaws. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, this restraining means may be formed out of or secured to either the upper structural member or the lower structural member of the clipper. Although the restraining means may even be disposed upon the pin going through the relatively movable main upper and lower members, in a deliberate effort to avoid increasing the cost of my improved clipper, I do not require this latter construction.

I In an embodiment involving of the use of resilient material such as sponge rubber, I advantageously provide automatic protection for the cutting jaws or blades of the clippers by packing the sponge rubber rather closely between the upper and lower structural members adjacent the jaws so that it tends to bulge out somewhat between the jaws. This quite effectively prevents coins or other items carried in the pockets from undesirably becoming lodged between the cutting jaws when the clippers are being carried in the users pocket, yet the sponge rubber can remain in place during nail clipping inasmuch as such material-does not inhibit the effective trimming of the nails. This is because it is but a simple matter to insert or imbed the nail between the jaws in the proper position to be trimmed. Then, when the nail is clipped, the sponge rubber effectively prevents undesired flight thereof.

It should be noted that any trimming of the sponge rubber that is necessary in this embodiment will be accomplished during the initial factory trial cutting action, with subsequent use of the clipper typically not removing any ice more sponge rubber. However, I have found that despite the possible removal of some sponge rubber during this initial cut, the remaining block of sponge rubber still tends to extend somewhat outwardly between the cutting jaws when the jaws are not being manipulated, thus to achieve the desired protection of the jaws from harm by objects with which they may come into contact. Upon depressing or closing the jaws, this slightly extended portion of the rubber block is automatically removed from between the jaw cutting edges by the closing action of the jaws, without involving a cutting of the rubber. As previously indicated, it is only necessary to' press the fingernail to be cut into contact with the sponge rubber in order to dispose the nail in the desired position between the jaws or blades for the cutting operation.

In most instances I find it convenient to use sponge rubber having an adhesive backing so that the block of sponge rubber located between the jaws will tend not to become dislodged while the clipper is being carried in the pocket. However, this is not a firm requirement, for by the proper sizing of the block of sponge rubber, typically involving the use of a comparative oversize piece of the rations that physically and purposely interfere with the undesired flight of the nail, whereas other embodiments utilize the principle of mechanically dampening the nail during the trimming operation, this latter taking place to such an extent that when the nail is subsequently severed, it does not tend to move away from the blades at the high velocity that it otherwise would. In each instance, it should be noted that my means for achieving cut nail control does not prevent the sides of the jaws of the clipper being effectively used, as was often prevented by prior art designs employing mechanical side members, which also obscured the nail positioning with respect to the cutting edges.

Quite significantly, all embodiments of my invention involve low cost' means for preventing the undesired flight of fingernails, which means are nevertheless quite effective. Further examples include the use of metallic obstructions formed directly from the metal of the clipper, or else secured such as by welding to the inside portions of the structural members of the clipper in order to achieve cut nail control.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a study of the appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my improved nail 1 clipper in which in accordance with a preferred embodiment, restraining means in the form of sponge rubber is disposed between the relatively movable structural members adjacent the jaws so as to extend for a desired distance outwardly between the jaws;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view related to the I showing of FIGURE 1 in which the bulging of the sponge a restraining means in the form of a block of rubber immediately adjacent the upper cutting jaw to achieve a desired dampening action;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view revealing the use of bent up tabs which, in conjunction with the center pin of the clipper, provide etfective restraining means;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of an embodiment in which an obstruction or restraining means in the form of a shield disposed upon the center pin is employed;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 but revealing the use of a shield as by spot welding to the lower structural member of the clipper;

FIGURE 8 is a view generally similar to FIGURE 7 in which a plurality of smaller tabs or shields are spot welded to the lower main member to form with the center pin a desired restraining means;

FIGURES 9 and 10 reveal an embodiment in which side tabs are utilized as restraining means, formed from the material of the main lower member of the clipper;

FIGURE 11 is an embodiment using a plurality of upstanding pins forming restraining means;

FIGURE 12 is similar to FIGURES 8 and 10, involving tabs bent at an angle;

FIGURE 13 is an embodiment of my clipper in which the restraining means takes the form of a five sided, boxlike structure of a deformable material; and

FIGURE 14 is a view showing the deformable restraining means of FIGURE 13 in greater detail.

Referring to FIGURE 1 it will be noted that the clipper 10 is provided with relatively movable upper and lower members 11 and 12 secured together at their aft ends by means of a rivet '13 or the like. The structural members 11 and 12 possess springiness, and by means of lever 18 that is mounted upon center pin 14, the cutting jaw portions 15 and 16 of the main upper and lower members may be brought together with sufiicient force to achieve a cutting action. Clippers of this general type are well known in the art, and as revealed in the David Patent No. 2,837,821, it is also known that such clippers may be provided with means for catching cut fingernail portions. The scarcity of latter type devices on the market, however, is a natural consequence fact that the provision of nail catching means has in the past necessarily increased the cost of clippers to a very significant extent.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention, a piece of sponge rubber 17 is provided between the relatively movable main upper and lower members 11 and 12 at a location immediately adjacent the jaw or blade portions 15 and 16. As revealed in FIGURE 2, the sponge rubber is comparatively tightly disposed between the upper and lower members so that it tends tobulge outwardly somewhat between the cutting jaws 15 and 16. It should be noted however, that as the lever 18 is fulcrumed about pin 14 and its rear portion moved toward the member 11 so that the cutting action will be brought about, the bulging portion 17 is passed over by the jaw members at all times subsequent to an initial cut by the clippers, thus enabling the sponge rubber to remain eflective to prevent injury to the cutting edge of the jaw members as well as preventing the tendency of coins, keys, or the like carried in the pockets from becoming lodged between the jaws.

By appropriately sizing the sponge rubber to the clipper, typically involving compressing the rubber, there is little tendency for it to become dislodged. However, if desired, sponge rubber provided with an adhesive backing may be employed so as to positively prevent it from undesired movement away from the position shown in FIGURE 2.

As will be apparent to those skilled in this art, other embodiments of my basic invention other than that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 may be employed ifdesired. For example, as shown in FIGURE 3, a piece of sponge rubber 27 or the like may be secured to upper structural member 21 at a location slightly spaced from upper jaw member 25 to serve as the restraining means. As will be noted, the lower portion of the rubber member 27 is of a dimension greater than that of the jaw 25, causing it to extend somewhat below the lower terminus of the jaw. In this manner, when the blade edges 25 and 26 have been brought into severing contact with a fingernail inserted therebetween, the rubber membersll servesto provide a physical barrier preventing rearward travel of the cut fingernail portion. By providing a piece of rubber of suf ficient dimension, including a width corresponding with the width of the jaw 25, it can be assured that cut fingernails will not except in extraordinary cases fly past the rubber member.

Referring to FIGURE 4, another embodiment of my invention is depicted wherein restraining means 37, such as of rubber, is disposed directly against the inner portion of the upper jaw 35, in this instance providing a direct, effective barrier against undesired movement of the cut fingernail portion. However, the modus operandi is somewhat dilferent in this instance in that the rubber member 37 is dimensioned to come into contact with the fingernail placed upon the lower jaw 36 an instant before the upper jaw 35 commences cutting of the fingernail. In this manner, the outer portion of the fingernail is physically restrained against flight by a form of damping operation from a time just before the fingernail severing is to be brought about. As a result, any movement of the cut fingernail portion away from the clipper is only slight, with any tendency of the cut portion to achieve substantial velocity being small.

As will be obvious, it is not required that it be the upper member 21 to which the rubber member 27 or 37 be secured, for quite obviously in each instance the restraining means could be secured as well as to the lower main member. In latter instance, when the restraining member is comparatively soft, such as of sponge rubber, the users fingernail can be pushed directly into the rubber. However, if the restraining member is a more dense or hard piece of material, it may be desirable to turn the clipper over in order to be able to place the fingernail against the jaw of the clippers upon which no restraining member is directly employed.

Referring to FIGURE 5, it will be noted that the restaining means in this instance take the form of two or so bent up tabs 57a and 57b created out of the metal of the lower structural member. Ideally, these tabs are on either side of the center pin 54 and with the pin form an effective barricade for virtually the entire width or extent of the jaws.

Turning to FIGURE 6, it will be noted that the restaining member 67 has taken a diflerent form, and is secured to and supported in position by the pin 64 extending between the relatively movable upper and lower members 61 and 62 of the clipper. This restraining member may be shaped much like a shield, and for example may have a rear center portion equipped with appropriate slits therein, forming a member that can be inserted over the pin 64 during assembly of the clipper. In this manner, the restraining member 67 will be maintained in a desired location adjacent to the jaws of the clipper so as to deliberately interfere with the flight of fingernails. As will be desired, the height of the restaining member is sufficient to extend most of the distance between the upper and lower members when the jaws have been brought together in the nail cutting position, but desirably it is not of a height to interfere with the proper closure of the aws.

Referring now to FIGURE 7, it will be noted that the restraining means takes the form of a spot welded shield 77 that is secured to the lower structural member between the lower jaw and the pin, and, being of a similar dimension to that of the lower jaw, prevents as in the other embodiments, the undesired travel of cut fingernail portions.

FIGURE 8 is a view much like that of FIGURE 7 but differs in that the restraining means takes the form of a the positions shown in FIGURE 10. It should be noted in this instance that the tabs form a different type of restraining means, although it should be noted that such tabs quite effectively prevent the severed fingernails from traveling beyond the confines of the clipper. This is because nails cannot fly rearwardly from the jaws without contacting the secured-together rear portions of the main structural members of the clipper, and obviously cannot travel sideways because of the presence of the tabs.

Referring to FIGURE 11, an embodiment is shown wherein two or more small pins 107a and 107b are inserted into say the lower main member of the clipper so as to form with the main pin, effective fingernail flight preventing means. As in the other instances, the height of the pins constituting the restraining means obviously is such that they do not prevent eifective closure of the jaw members.

FIGURE 12 is an embodiment much on the order of that of FIGURE 10, but involving tab members 117a and 11712 that are not disposed at 90 degrees to the side edges of the lower member of the clippers. In other words, the bent up tabs angle toward the pin and together therewith form a barricade of desirable configuration.

In FIGURE 13 a final embodiment is presented, which is in keeping with the use of a structure functioning as a restraining means operatively disposed between the main structural members of the clipper. In this embodiment, and as better seen in FIGURE 14, an enclosed, five-sided configuration 127 made of plastic or molded rubber is mounted about the center pin 124 or otherwise disposed adjacent the jaws so as to render a deformable structure with sides and back portion for cut nail obstruction. As will be noted from FIGURE 13, the rear portion 129 is shorter than the overall height of the configuration 127, thus allowing an opening for unloading cut nail pieces when the jaws are not compressed. Upon closing the jaws, as when clipping nails, this back portion 129 is lowered so as to form a back shield that serves as an eflective restraining means.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, I have provided a number of embodiments of an invention designed to prevent the undesirable flight of severed fingernails, in each instance involving the concept of interfering with high speed motion of the cut fingernail away from the jaws. It is most significant to note that the utilization of my concept does not materially increase the cost of manufacture of the clipper, thus allowing it to be sold for approximately the same price as clippers that do not have any novel, flight-preventing characteristics. This concept is of course to be contrasted with that of prior art clipper configurations that achieved such a goal only by the utilization of much more expensive 4 6 I claim:

1. In a nail clipper, a pair of jaws having cutting edges disposed in a substantially aligned arrangement and normally biased away from a cutting relationship, means for forcing said jaws together so as to cause said cutting edges to cut a nail placed therebetween from one side of said edges, restraining means formed of a resilient, easily deformable material, means supporting said resilient, easily deformable material on the other side of said edges, adjacent at least one of said cutting edges, so that said material will contact a nail placed between said cutting edges from said one side, said resilient material normally contacting said other side of both of said cutting edges in the normally biased away cutting relationship, thus spanning the space between said cutting edges, said resilient material also functioning to dampen and attenuate a nail cut by said cutting edges, thus to prevent the undesirable flight of the cut nail.

2. An improved nail clipper for preventing the undesired flight of fingernails said clipper comprising upper and lower members secured together at one of their ends and the other ends resiliently held apart, said other ends having a pair of transversely extending nipper jaw portions that are directed toward each other, a lever spaced inwardly from said jaw portions, a pin extending between said other ends and accommodating said lever for moving said jaw portions toward each other, the improvement comprising restraining means formed of a resilient material disposed between said upper and lower members at a location adjacent said jaw portions so as normally to contact a portion of a fingernail at the time the fingernail is placed between said jaws portions, thereby attenuating and dampening the lateral force applied to the fingernail during the severing of a portion of same, and said resilient material filling the space between said other ends of said members and bulging outwardly between said jaw portions to some extent to prevent foreign items from becoming lodged between said jaw portions and thus preventing the premature dul-ling thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 633,736 9/1899 Schoonover 30134 2,775,032 12/1956 Sorensen 30-134 2,814,869 12/1957 Matson 30-134 X 3,188,737 6/1965 Chase 30-124 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,064 1895 Great Britain.

OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner.

G. WEIDENFELD, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A NAIL CLIPPER, A PAIR OF JAWS HAVING CUTTING EDGES DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED ARRANGEMENT AND NORMALLY BIASED AWAY FROM A CUTTING RELATIONSHIP, MEANS FOR FORCING SAID JAWS TOGETHER SO AS TO CAUSE SAID CUTTING EDGES TO CUT A NAIL PLACED THEREBETWEEN FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID EDGES, RESTRAINING MEANS FORMED OF A RESILIENT, EASILY DEFORMABLE MATERIAL, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID RE SILIENT, EASILY DEFORMABLE MATERIAL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID EDGES, ADJACENT AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CUTTING EDGES, SO THAT SAID MATERIAL WILL CONTACT A NAIL PLACED BETWEEN SAID CUTTING EDGES FROM SAID ONE SIDE, SAID RESILIENT MATERIAL NORMALLY CONTACTING SAID OTHER SIDE OF BOTH OF SAID CUTTING EDGES IN THE NORMALLY BIASED AWAY CUTTING RELATIONSHIP, THUS SPANNING THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID CUTTING EDGES, SAID RESILIENT MATERIAL ALSO FUNCTIONING TO DAMPEN AND ATTENUATE A NAIL CUT BY SAID CUTTING EDGES, THUS TO PREVENT THE UNDESIRABLE FLIGHT OF THE CUT NAIL. 